The field of the disclosure relates generally to the inspection of electrical bonds associated with a platform, and more specifically, to methods and systems for automated measurement of electrical bonds.
Currently, an exhaustive and time consuming inspection technique is utilized by mechanics in the inspection of electrical bonds that requires the mechanics to make physical contact with structural and system electrical bonds. In certain manufacturing environments, for example an aircraft production environment, such inspection is required at hundreds of points. Currently, such inspections are estimated to take several days to complete, using a hand held ohm-meter.
More specifically, to accomplish the inspection as currently conducted, the mechanic carries a handheld instrument that includes two probes and a visual read out. By making physical contact with the bond in question using the two ohm-meter probes, a resistance associated with the bond is measured in ohms and displayed on a display associated with the ohm-meter. For each resistance measurement, the mechanic manually records the measurement the value on paper, before moving on to inspect the next bond. If there are any obstructions, such as coverings, fairings, insulation, or panels, the mechanic must first remove these so that physical contact can be made with the bond using the ohm-meter probes.
Because of the manual recording of data and direct contact requirement, the inspection process takes a long time to complete and is therefore costly. Removal of obstructions to access the part adds to the inspection time. Human error can also be introduced into the inspection process due to the manual recording of resistance measurements.